1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic head having a slider mounted on a hard disk apparatus or the like. In particular, the present invention relates to a magnetic head with reduced the likelihood of damaging a recording medium due to movement relative to an edge or the like formed by machining on the slider.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 7 is an isometric view of a conventional magnetic head mounted on a hard disk or the like, showing the facing surface facing a recording medium. In this magnetic head, an upstream side A and a downstream side B are respectively called a leading side and a trailing side with respect to the direction of movement of the recording medium. Reference numeral 20 in FIG. 7 designates a slider made of a ceramic material or the like. A thin-film device 6 for magnetic recording and/or playing back is provided on the end portion of the trailing side B of the slider 20.
As shown in FIG. 7, an air groove 2 is provided on a portion facing a recording medium of the slider 20, and a facing surface 21 (a flying surface, that is, an air bearing surface (hereinafter referred to as an ABS)) is formed around the air groove 2. Furthermore, a step portion 22 is formed at the portion of the outer end portion of the facing surface 21 which meets the side panel of the slider 20. The depth of the step portion 22 and the depth of the air groove 2 are almost equal. Furthermore, an inclined surface 5 is provided at the leading side A of the facing surface 21.
Next, a method for manufacturing the slider 20 shown in FIG. 7 will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of resist layers 23 for defining the facing surface 21 facing the recording medium is provided on a surface of a substrate made of a ceramic material as a base material of the slider 20. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, parts of the surface of the substrate not covered with the resist layers 23 are etched off using an ion milling system and then the resist layers 23 are removed.
At this point, a plurality of facing surfaces 21 is formed on the surface of the substrate. Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the substrate is cut off between the facing surfaces 21 adjacent to each other, so that a plurality of sliders 20 having a configuration as shown in FIG. 7 is obtained simultaneously. The slider 20 of the magnetic head is supported by a flexure (not shown) immobilized at a top of a load beam (not shown), and is urged toward the recording medium by elastic force of the load beam applied by a leaf spring.
This magnetic head is used for a hard disk apparatus which employs a contact-stand-and-stop (hereinafter referred to as a CSS) system or a ramp load system. In a flying state, the magnetic head is inclined in such a manner that the leading side A is higher than the trailing side B on the recording medium. In the flying state, a recording signal is written on the recording medium by the thin-film device 6 shown in FIG. 7, or a magnetic signal is detected from the recording medium.
As described above, the slider 20 of the magnetic head shown in FIG. 7 is manufactured as follows. The facing surface 21 facing the recording medium is formed on a substrate, which is the base material for the slider 20 using a photolithography technique. Then, the substrate is cut off to produce the slider 20 shown in FIG. 7 (with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10). Since the cutting off step is conducted by machining, an edge, a burr or the like easily occurs at an end portion which is cut off by machining, that is, the end portion being an outer end portion 22a of the step portion 22 shown in FIG. 7.
When the edge or the like occurs at the outer end portion 22a of the step portion 22, the surface of the recording medium is damaged due to movement relative to the edge or the like while the slider 20 is steeply inclined and brought into contact with the recording medium, due to a strong shock from the outside or the like.
When the magnetic head is dropped on the surface of the recording medium from an arm mounted within the apparatus in the ramp load system, the edge or the like formed on the slider 20 by machining gives rise to a problem in which damage occurs to the surface of the recording medium when the slider 20 of the magnetic head is steeply inclined and brought into contact with the recording medium.
Furthermore, when the outer end portion 22a of the step portion 22, in which the edge or the like occurs, is brought into contact with the recording medium, cracking occurs easily at the outer end portion 22a having the edge or the like due to machining, so that a problem is created in which the magnetic head is also easily damaged.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above disadvantages, and to provide a magnetic head and a method of manufacture therefor in which an improvement in a configuration of a slider makes it possible to reduce the likelihood of damaging a recording medium due to movement relative to an edge or the like formed on a slider by machining in a ramp load system or when a strong shock is received from the outside.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic head including a slider; a thin-film device for at least one of storing and playing back a magnetic record provided at an end portion of a trailing side of the slider; a first step portion provided at a region from an outer end portion of a facing surface facing a recording medium provided on the slider to a side panel of the slider; and a second step portion provided at the side panel of the slider.
In accordance with the present invention, the second step portion may be formed by machining. Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, an angle xcex8 defined by a line connecting the outer end portion of the first step portion with an outer end portion of the second step portion and the facing surface of the recording medium preferably ranges from 45 to 90 degrees.
In addition, the second step portion may be provided at an end portion of a leading side of the slider.
Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, the outer end portion of the first step portion preferably has a rounded configuration.,
Furthermore, at least one of a corner portion of the end portion of the leading side and a side panel of the slider and a corner portion of the end portion of the trailing side and a side panel of the slider is preferably shaved, and more preferably has a rounded configuration.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a magnetic head having a slider and a thin-film device for at least one of storing and playing back a magnetic record provided at an end portion of a trailing side of the slider, including the steps of providing a groove portion on a substrate as a base material for a slider by machining; providing a resist layer which defines a facing surface facing a recording medium between the groove portions on a surface of the substrate; forming a first step portion at a region from the facing surface to the groove portion by etching a surface area not covered with the resist layer, using an ion milling system; and cutting off the substrate at the groove portion so that a second step portion is formed starting from an outer end portion of the first step portion.
An edge or the like due to machining occurs at an end portion of the step portion of a conventional magnetic head shown in FIG. 7. Thus, there is a problem in which damage due to the edge or the like occurs on a surface of a recording medium when a slider is steeply inclined.
In accordance with the present invention, a deeper step portion (a second step portion) is provided by machining at a region from the step portion shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 1 shows a specific configuration of a magnetic head in accordance with the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, a first step portion (the same as the step portion shown in FIG. 7) and the second step portion are provided at a side panel of the slider. In accordance with the present invention, the edge or the like due to machining occurs only at an outer end portion of the second step portion, and the edge or the like due to machining does not occur at an outer end portion of the first step portion.
In addition, an angle of inclination xcex8 (with reference to FIG. 3) of the second step portion is preferably maximally obtuse. In accordance with the present invention, the angle of inclination xcex8 preferably ranges from 45 to 90 degrees.
In a method for manufacturing the slider in accordance with the present invention, in particular, a deep groove is preliminarily provided on a substrate as a base material for the slider (with reference to FIG. 4).
Then as shown in FIG. 5, the first step portion is provided on the substrate using a photolithography technique, so that an edge, a burr, or the like is unlikely to be produced at the outer end portion of the first step portion.
Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, as shown by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 5, the substrate is cut off at the grooves, so that the edge or the like due to machining occurs only at the outer end portion of the second step portion (with reference to FIG. 1).
Thus, in accordance with the present invention, the first step portion is provided at the side panel of the slider using a photolithography technique, then the second step portion is provided by machining at a region from the outer end portion of the first step portion. An edge or the like due to machining occurs only at the outer end portion of the second step portion.
Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, when the outer end portion of the second step portion in which the edge or the like occurs is brought into contact with the recording medium, the angle of inclination of the magnetic head can be steeper than in the conventional art.
That is, in accordance with the present invention, even if a magnetic head is steeply inclined and brought into contact with a recording medium due to a strong shock from the outside, the recording medium can be maximally protected from coming into contact with the outer end portion of the second step portion in which the edge or the like occurs.
As a result, the likelihood of damaging the recording medium due to movement relative to an edge or the like formed by machining can be reduced.